


The ring you gave to her will lose its shine

by wemovealong



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Cheating, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-30
Updated: 2013-06-30
Packaged: 2017-12-16 15:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/863497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wemovealong/pseuds/wemovealong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is having an affair with Harry, who is in love with him, but what will happen when Louis decides to propose to Eleanor?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The ring you gave to her will lose its shine

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the song "Don't Bother" by Shakira

Ever since they started touring, Louis and Harry had been hooking up.

It all started out because Louis was horny and he knew that Harry fancied him, and after the first time, they found themselves continuing with their not-so-secret “relationship”. 

It was a secret that too many people who worked with them knew of but nobody really spoke of it. 

Everyone just left them to do whatever they pleased, just as long as they kept it private and didn’t let the world know about it. 

But of course that wasn’t going to happen anyway, since Louis actually had a girlfriend. 

Eleanor knew nothing of Louis’ secret thing with Harry and he never ever intended on telling her. 

Louis didn’t see it as cheating, even though it really was. He had convinced himself that sleeping with a boy didn’t really count as an infidelity. There was absolutely no logic in his thinking but Harry just let him think that way. If that’s how the whole situation made him feel less guilty, then so be it. 

Harry, however, had always felt guilty about the thing he had with Louis. He knew that it was wrong and that he should have said no before the whole thing had even started but he couldn’t help himself. 

Harry loved Louis, had ever since he was sixteen. So yes, he felt guilty for being that “other person” in the relationship, but he couldn’t stop being with Louis. He had tried but somehow Louis always managed to drag him back into his mess. 

The whole situation wasn’t easy for Harry. There were lots of times on the tour where Eleanor would come to visit for a few days at a time and Louis would completely ignore his existence the entire time that she was there. 

The first time that she had showed up after the two had started hooking up, Harry had been devastated. He had convinced himself that Louis really loved him back and that he would breakup with her for him. 

He was wrong. Harry was miserable the entire time that she was there and the only one to actually notice was Niall. 

Niall being the great friend he was would make sure that the two of them would share a hotel and then he’d let Harry cry in his arms while he whispered sweet things to him about how he deserved better. 

Harry never really listened though because as soon as Eleanor was gone, Louis would be there again, and Harry would just go back to letting Louis use him. 

It became a pattern that occurred throughout the entire ‘Up All Night’ tour. 

Nothing ever changed though. 

Louis kept cheating on Eleanor, Harry kept letting Louis use him, and Niall kept consoling a broken-hearted Harry when Eleanor would show up again. 

And the same pattern started again once they started their ‘Take Me Home’ tour. 

But then one night, everything changed. 

-&-

They were halfway through their American tour and it was a hotel night. Eleanor wasn’t around so of course Harry and Louis were sharing a room. 

The two had just finished having sex and they were lounging around in the bed, tangled up in the blankets, when Louis reached away from the bed in search of something. 

Harry thought that maybe he was reaching for another condom or something but Louis came back with a small box in his hand. 

Harry’s heart started racing when he realized it was the type of box that a small ring would come in – the type of ring that you might propose to someone with. 

It was probably wishful thinking but Harry thought that maybe just maybe Louis was ready to ditch Eleanor and finally just be with him. 

“What do you think?” Louis asked, opening the box to revealing a sparkling diamond ring. 

Harry’s eyes widened at the sight of the ring. “It’s, um, really nice,” he managed to get out. 

“Yeah?” Louis smiled. “You think Eleanor will like it?” 

“Eleanor?” Harry’s heart sank and he felt like he was going to die. 

“Yeah, obviously,” Louis chuckled. “I’m gonna propose.” 

Louis started on about how he should do it and if the ring was big enough and stuff. 

Harry wasn’t listening though. He could hear his heart thumping in his ears and he couldn’t breathe. 

Louis was going to propose to Eleanor. 

“I have to go,” Harry interrupted Louis. He got out the bed and quickly threw on his clothes and left the room without turning back. 

Niall wasn’t too far down the hall and by the time he reached Niall’s door, he had tears streaming down his cheeks and he could hardly catch his breath. 

Niall didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to; he had done this with Harry more than enough times to know why Harry was coming to him. He just led Harry into the room and got him settled on the bed. 

Niall held Harry in his arms as he sobbed. He didn’t feel that it was right time to ask, but he was confused as to what had even happened between Harry and Louis this time because Eleanor wasn’t even around at the moment. 

-&-

He found out the next morning what Louis had done. 

Louis showed everyone the ring at breakfast and the other boys were trying to help him devise some great plan of how to propose in a big, flashy way. 

Niall could see the hurt look on Harry’s face as everyone went on and on about the proposal so he took Harry’s hand into his own and lightly squeezed it. 

Harry turned to look at Niall and gave him a weak smile as he squeezed Niall’s hand tighter. 

After that, Harry stayed away from Louis. They didn’t sleep in the same hotel room and they didn’t kiss or do anything sexual together. 

Louis was too wrapped up in his Eleanor plans to even realize that Harry wasn’t hanging around him, or even more importantly, that he was hurting Harry. 

So the less time that Harry spent with Louis, the more he spent with Niall. 

Harry loved hanging out with Niall. He somehow always knew when Harry was sad and was always quick to cheer him up, and when he was with Niall, he almost forgot about Louis all together. 

Niall was great a friend to him and Harry wished that he had spent more time over the past two tours having fun with Niall rather than getting his heart get thrown around by Louis. 

And he was extremely thankful that Niall was sat beside him when _it_ happened. 

Louis had invited Eleanor over to America just in time to invite her along to an award show and he had worked it all out with their management and the producers of the award show that he would propose to her during the show. 

Harry rolled his eyes at Louis’ plan but it was so typical of him to do it this way. Louis had a big, bold, flashy personality and Harry knew that Louis would just have to do propose in the most obnoxious way possible. 

But Harry had to fake a smile through the whole thing, make it seem like he was super happy for his bandmate when he really dying a little bit on the inside. 

Niall knew this, of course, and had wrapped an arm around Harry before and after the stupid proposal. 

Everyone seemed to be so happy for Louis and Eleanor and the media was buzzing about the very public proposal and wedding rumors. 

And while Harry was nowhere near happy for Louis, he was starting to accept that he and Louis were never going to work out. 

-&-

A few days after the proposal, Eleanor had to go back to England, and the boys were on the road again. 

Louis, Liam, and Zayn were all playing video games with some of their band members. Harry and Niall were on the opposite side of the bus together. 

The two of them had kind of isolated themselves like that ever since Harry had come to Niall the night of the ring incident. 

They were laughing about something together when Louis plopped himself down beside Harry. Their laughter immediately died down as they both turned to stare at Louis. 

“Hey, um, can we talk?” Louis asked, and then looked over to Niall. “Privately,” he added, “no offense, mate.” 

Niall stood up silently but Harry pushed him back into his seat. 

“We can talk, but Niall’s not leaving,” Harry told Louis. 

“Erm, alright,” Louis responded. “So are you angry at me or something?” 

“What would give you that impression?” Harry laughed sarcastically. 

“Well you haven’t really said more than two words to me off stage in like two weeks,” Louis said, pointing out the obvious. “Is this about me proposing to Eleanor?” 

Harry didn’t say anything for a moment and then sighed. “I just don’t get why you’re marrying her,” he said quietly. 

“I love her.” 

“And what about me?” Harry asked, feeling a lump rising in his throat. 

“We, um, we’re friends, Harry,” Louis said, “We were just having fun, you know. It was just sex.” 

Harry let a few tears fall from his eyes. It had always been more than just sex to him and he felt like an idiot for having let Louis use him for so long. 

Louis put a hand on Harry’s arm in attempt to comfort him, but Harry pushed him away. 

“I think you should go back with the others,” Niall spoke up, “no offense, mate.” 

Louis looked between a crying Harry and a stern Niall. He sighed and stood up from where he was sitting. 

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Louis said and then walked back to where the others were. 

Harry pulled his knees up to his chest and put his head in his lap as he cried. 

Niall moved across to where Louis had been sitting to comfort Harry. 

“Why am I so stupid?” Harry asked, his voice muffled his sobs. 

“You’re not stupid, Harry,” Niall assured him. “You’re amazing, and if Louis doesn’t see that, then it’s his loss.” Niall held him tighter. “You deserve so much better than him.” 

“You always say that,” Harry said quietly, “but no one wants me.” 

“I want you,” slips out of Niall’s mouth before he can even think about what he’s saying. 

Harry pulls his head up and looks at Niall with tear-filled eyes. “You what?” 

“I – I want you,” Niall stuttered. He could feel his face redden. “I’ve wanted to be with you as long as you’ve wanted to be with Louis.” 

Harry wiped his eyes which had stopped crying. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked quietly. 

Niall shrugged. “I didn’t think that you’d ever want me back.” 

Harry thinks back to all of the times that Louis had ditched him for Eleanor and how Niall had always there to take care of Harry when he was feeling down. 

And he thinks to the recent events with Niall spending lots of time with him to keep him company and to make sure that he’s okay. 

How could he be so blind to realize how amazing Niall treated him? 

Harry grabbed at Niall and hugged him tightly. 

“You’ve got me,” Harry whispered into his ear. 

-&-

Harry and Niall spent the next two months beginning a relationship. 

They decided to take things slow so they actually went out on dates and stuff instead of just fucking in a hotel room. 

And when they did finally have sex, it wasn’t fucking – it was making love. 

It was beautiful and like nothing Harry had ever experienced with Louis. 

Harry fell more in love with Niall every day. 

Because their relationship was so new, they hadn’t really bothered to tell anyone about it, but they decided that Louis’ wedding was the perfect opportunity to out themselves. 

Liam and Zayn were pleasantly surprised when Harry and Niall showed up holding hands. 

And Louis, well, Harry could tell that he wasn’t exactly happy for the two of them, but Harry thought that it was alright because he wasn’t exactly happy for Louis and Eleanor either. 

But Harry didn’t let Louis’ wedding get to him and just thought happy thoughts like how maybe it could be him and Niall getting married one day. 

Because finally, after waiting far too long, Harry and Niall got what they rightfully deserved, and that was each other.


End file.
